Celebrating Deborah Carrillo’s Promotion to Partner

I’m thrilled to announce that Deborah Carrillo has been promoted to Partner at Menlo Ventures. This is recognition of someone who’s been instrumental to our firm’s success for years. But what makes this promotion particularly meaningful to me is the journey that brought us here.

Building Trust from Day One

I first met Deborah when she was an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in San Francisco. It was clear she had something special, a combination of sharp legal acumen, business savvy, and the rare ability to see around corners on complex deals.

Our paths crossed again later; Deborah was Menlo’s outside counsel when we invested in Rover. Watching her work on that deal reinforced what I’d already suspected: Deborah wasn’t just an excellent attorney; she was a trusted advisor who understood the venture ecosystem from every angle. When she came up for promotion to Partner at Pillsbury, I was honored to serve as a reference. It was one of the easiest recommendations I’ve ever made.

From Trusted Advisor to Team Member

Fast forward to 2020; we made the decision to bring our general counsel function in-house. We needed someone who could navigate the full complexity of what we do, and Deborah was the first person I thought of.

She’d already proven herself as outside counsel, and she really understood Menlo—our portfolio, our values, our ambitions. Deborah had been in the trenches with us and knew how we operated. From day one, she made an impact. 

Where Legal Meets Strategy and Structure

At Menlo, Deborah has never operated as “just” the general counsel. From day one, she’s been a strategic partner across every dimension of our business. She’s guided us through complex transactions and shaped how we think about everything from fund structure to founder relationships and long-term firm strategy.

What most people do not see is how expansive and high-impact the general counsel role is inside a venture firm. The GC sits at the intersection of everything that matters: investments, governance, fund architecture, risk, LP trust, and founder support.

Deborah stepped into that responsibility and immediately elevated it. She takes complicated issues, strips them down to what matters, and helps the partnership move faster with clarity and confidence. When decisions are sensitive or high-stakes, she is the person we turn to.

She has also become the institutional memory of Menlo. Deborah is the one who remembers why structures were created a certain way, how past decisions were made, and where hidden pitfalls might sit. That continuity has preserved discipline as the firm has grown and strengthened the foundation Menlo’s future will be built on. 

And in the background, she has shaped much of the architecture of the firm itself. Fund vehicles, capital flows, cross-fund considerations, governance, and allocations are legal questions wrapped around strategic ones, and Deborah has navigated each with precision and long-term thinking.

Her influence shows up everywhere: in how we support founders, how we operate as a partnership, how we work with LPs, and how we make decisions as a firm. Deborah has been doing the work of a partner for years. Today her title reflects it.

What Partnership Means—and What Comes Next

Being a GC in venture also means playing a direct role in how we support the companies we back. Founders rely on Menlo for guidance when things get complex, whether it is a financing, a board issue, or a sensitive operational problem. That same judgment helps the partnership close competitive rounds and gives LPs confidence that the firm is thoughtful, consistent, and well-governed.

This promotion isn’t about changing what Deborah does each day; it’s about recognizing the role she’s already playing. She’s been a true partner to this firm in every sense of the word, and now her title reflects that.

At Menlo, partnership means more than a seat at the table. It means you’ve proven yourself as someone who strengthens everything around you: our decision-making, our portfolio support, our culture, and our ability to back the most ambitious founders building the future. Deborah has done exactly that.

As we continue to scale Menlo and support the next generation of AI-first companies, having leaders like Deborah in partnership roles is essential. She brings the expertise, judgment, and steady leadership that allows us to move quickly while maintaining the rigor that’s defined our firm for decades.

We’re incredibly fortunate to have her and couldn’t be more excited about what comes next. Congratulations, Deborah. This is well-deserved, and as a longtime fan, I’m grateful to continue building alongside you.